guaranteed by the state, and the reorganization of public education. The railroad property was sold under a guarantee of early completion and the state debt materially reduced. The public-school system was thoroughly reorganized and progress was made toward free education for all children. He was unsuccessful, however, in his repeated efforts to obtain a constitutional amendment abolishing the test oath as a qualification for voting and for engaging in the professions. He supported normal schools for training teachers, greater funding for the state university, and special attention to agricultural education. After serving as governor, Fletcher returned to St. Louis and practiced law for a time. He then moved to Washington, D.C., where he continued to practice until his death. He wrote Life and Reminiscences of General Wm. T. Sherman (1891). He was buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis. Fletcher, Missouri, is named after him, as was the U.S. Army's Fort Fletcher in Kansas. See also History of slavery in Missouri References "Death List of a Day", p. 7, New York Times, 1899-3-26, Historical New York Times retrieved 2006-8-6 via ProQuest, St. Louis County, Missouri library "Thomas Clement Fletcher." Dictionary of American Biography Base Set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. External links Thomas Clement Fletcher entry at the National Governors Association Thomas Clement Fletcher entry at The Political Graveyard 1827 births 1899 deaths American Civil War prisoners of war Republican Party governors of Missouri People from Herculaneum, Missouri People of Missouri in the American Civil War Union Army colonels Burials at Bellefontaine Cemetery Union (American Civil War) state governors 19th-century American politicians